Scrum
Scrum was a crafty, mandola-playing Machiavellian pirate. Hardly the sharpest sword in the scabbard, Scrum made up for his life with a natural-born talent for music, and duplicity. Known for his cheery spirits and slow wits, Scrum joined the crew of the Queen Anne's Revenge, where he would serve under the infamous pirate Blackbeard. During the quest for the Fountain of Youth, Scrum was torn between his duty to Angelica and his admiration for Jack Sparrow. Although he was a scurvy soul, Scrum betrayed a weakness for those scintillating sirens of the sea, the mermaids. Scrum would continue living a pirate's life aboard the Revenge until he joined Jack Sparrow's crew aboard the Dying Gull. Biography Early life Not much is known about Scrum's past, but it is known that he was born in London, as the son of a prostitute and an unknown man.Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales At some point in his life, Scrum learned how to play the mandola. For his playing, his mother said that it brought a tear to her eye, and Scrum later attempted to seduce a Berber princess with his musical talent. However, she was already betrothed to another Berber man, and Scrum fled. Piracy At some point in his pirate career, Scrum would have sailed with a beautiful female pirate named Angelica, but with no knowledge that her father was the infamous pirate Blackbeard. Scrum was a notable pub regular in the Captain's Daughter, a pub located in London, where he'd tell tales that stir hearts up to bravery that they may well regret.Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide p.21 He was mostly known to provide entertainment while playing the mandola to the patrons.Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Quest for the Fountain of Youth Jack Sparrow in the Captain's Daughter.]] In the mid-18th century, Scrum would have met with Angelica in London. Because of their previous time together, he would assist her in recruiting a number of sailors and pirates at the Captain's Daughter, promising them a modest venture sailing under Jack Sparrow. However, while wooing wenches in the tavern by playing My Jolly Sailor Bold with his mandola, the real Jack Sparrow appeared questioning of his recruiting a crew. Thinking he was an imposter, Scrum made fun of Jack after the latter asked "Do you have any idea who I am, mate?", saying that he forgot his own name, in which the crew laughed at Jack. Soon afterwards, the Royal Guards arrived to the Captain's Daughter and alerted their presence to Angelica, who was confronted by Jack. Scrum attempted to barricade the door to avoid dealing with the Guards, but ran right before they bursted in. As Jack and Angelica fought the guards, Scrum escaped the building. He would later meet with Angelica, who was able to get Jack unconscious, and made their way to Angelica's ship. Aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge .]] About five days into the voyage, Scrum woke Jack Sparrow up to work aboard the ''Queen Anne's Revenge, which brought the surprised Jack into realizing he was aboard the ship of Blackbeard. While doing their duties, mopping and scrubbing the deck, Scrum befriended Jack (after learning that he was the real Sparrow) aboard while showing him the ropes around the Revenge. He told Jack of Blackbeard's zombie officers as well as Philip Swift's imprisonment aboard. Scrum later met with Jack and some of the other crewmen, who were not satisfied with sailing under Angelica and her zombie crew, and took part in Jack's mutiny aboard the Revenge. He and the other crewmen were convinced by Jack to mutiny as they were heading for certain death at the Fountain of Youth. .]] Knowing that they were to face certain death unless they took the ship, Scrum told the crew to take the ship, though the crew didn't do so until Jack himself said it. In the fight, Scrum dueled with many of the zombie crewmen. Jack's crew were almost victorious until Blackbeard himself came out of his cabin. Blackbeard, in response to being told that this was a mutiny, hung all of the crewmen, including Scrum, with the rigging of the Queen Anne's Revenge. Scrum and the rest of the crewmen were let down to witness the Cook's punishment for their actions. Whitecap Bay .]] As the search continued, the pirates were led to Whitecap Bay, in search of a mermaid's tear for the Profane Ritual. Scrum was put in one of the various longboats, and the spotlight from the tower was cast on his boat. He, with Philip, Purser, Ezekiel, Cabin Boy, Derrick, and a few other pirates, were ordered to sing by Gunner, in order to lure the mermaids. As the first mermaid, named Tamara, arrived, she asked if Scrum was the one who was singing. He said yes, and wanted a kiss. The others tried to hold him back, but Scrum insisted he would have a kiss from a proper mermaid. Tamara then started to sing, making other mermaids show up, and then lured Scrum underwater, where he saw her true form. Scrum screamed as Tamara tried to attack, only to be warded off by Ezekiel, who hit her with an oar. The mermaids then attacked. Scrum's boat was destroyed and he was caught in the net by the rest of the crew, mistaken for a mermaid. When they unraveled the net, all they saw was a lovestruck Scrum. Fight at the Fountain fighting against Jack Sparrow.]] With a mermaid captured, the crew proceeded to the fountain. Once there, Hector Barbossa and his own crew came to kill Blackbeard. As the fight commenced, Angelica had Scrum follow her to the Fountain. With the Chalices, and the tear, Angelica and Scrum had to face Jack, who wanted the items. An interesting switch occured and Scrum was left to continue fighting others. Between Quests When Barbossa fatally wounded Blackbeard, he claimed his sword, ship, and crew for himself. Scrum and the other surviving members of Blackbeard's crew followed him back to the Queen Anne's Revenge, where Scrum witnessed Barbossa's usage of Blackbeard's sword to make the ship sail at a fast speed to Tortuga. After an unknown amount of time serving aboard the Revenge, Scrum joined Jack Sparrow and his crew on the Dying Gull. Quest for the Trident of Poseidon Leaving Jack Under Jack Sparrow's command Scrum participated in multiple failed crimes, the most notable of which was the robbery of the bank of Saint Martin, in which all they procured was a single coin. After Jack informed the crew that they had to pay him for the failure, his entire crew, including Scrum, lost all faith in their Captain and abandoned him. Rescuing Jack Shortly after their separation a young man named Henry Turner, the son of William Turner, paid them to save their ex-captain from the guillotine, as well as a young woman named Carina Smyth from being hanged. This led to a battle between soldiers and pirates, with Scrum going in search of the woman. He restrained and defeated a soldier with the help of Carina, who was still standing on the gallows, but accidentally activated the trap door meant to result in her death. Luckily, she was caught by Henry before the crew escaped the area. Mutiny After the escape, the crew went in search of the Trident of Poseidon, not knowing why their re-appointed captain was interested in doing so. The Trident could be found with Diary of Galileo Galilei, which was in possession of Carina Smyth and despite initially being denied help, they managed to help. However, when the crew discovered that they were being pursued by a ghost ship crewed by the dead, they immediately aimed their guns at Jack in frustration, which Jack then decides to call upon mutiny, having Henry Turner and Carina Smyth join him on a rowboat. The mutiny ended up putting Joshamee Gibbs as the captain. Becoming "Captain" Shortly afterwards, Gibbs discovered that the Royal navy warship Essex were following the Gull with the intent to arrest them. Wanting to avoid severe punishment, Gibbs lied to Scrum that Jack had named Scrum as captain, Scrum briefly pondered on this but accepted the role as he expressed joy at this. Soon the ship was boarded and the soldiers gave the unwitting Scrum a beating and locked the crew in the brig. However, the crew managed to pick the lock and escape using a nail torn from Scrum's foot, despite his protests. Service on the Pearl The crew fled in a boat, as Scrum pouts about his lost toenail before Gibbs discovered that the Black Pearl had been returned to its natural state and sailing again. Seeing the opportunity, the excited crew quickly made their way to the vessel and Scrum joined the crew in fighting off Salazar and his undead crew who soon retreated after the Pearl reached Black rock island. Scrum stayed aboard the ship while Barbossa, Jack and Carina transversed the island to locate the trident. After the destruction the Trident of Poseidon, which caused all the curses of the sea to be undone; the walls of the sea started closing in on the tomb threatening to drown all left inside. Barbossa had the crew lowered the anchor with him on it to save everyone and made the decision to sacrifice himself to save his daughter. Upon learning of his former captain's demise, Scrum held his hat down in respect. Afterwards Scrum joined the crew of the Black Pearl in accepting Jack as their captain again, his faith in Jack was restored as he was shown following his orders with no problem as the ship sailed off. Scrum's further fate is unknown. Personality and traits Scrum was a crafty pirate known for his cheery spirits, and slow wits.Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide, p34. A Machiavellian pirate, Scrum was never loyal to anyone, as he would go anywhere there's a pound note and a job involved. His quirks included having a huge scar around his face near his right eye, which was a slightly glass eye as he only got half an eye.Stephen Graham talks 'Dracula', 'Pirates 4' If brains were the true measure of a man, Scrum would be even more diminutive than he already was. Scrum makes up for his dull edge with a natural-born talent for music and duplicity.‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ New Stills Feature Queen Anne’s Revenge, Character Descriptions During the quest for the Fountain of Youth, Scrum was torn between his duty to Angelica, whom he sailed with before, and his admiration for Jack Sparrow. He seemed to have given up on them once he joined Hector Barbossa, who became the new captain of the Queen Anne's Revenge after killing Blackbeard. However, Scrum would go back to join Jack's crew once a year passed. A scurvy little soul, Scrum betrayed a weakness for those scintillating sirens of the sea, the mermaids. Equipment and skills As a pirate, Scrum had many skills, whether he was a fighter or lover. Given that he owned a sword with half-basket hilt, which protected his hand, Scrum was a fair sword fighter, having survived many fatal encounters. Scrum was also talented in playing stringed instruments, such as the mandola, even though its eight strings were all out of tune. On his neck, Scrum wore a necklace that included a whistle and a lucky shark's tooth. Among other items he had on his person was the spine of a large friend he had to eat, a ring for a prostitute he asked to marry but she had refused, and the jawbone of his dog which had the use of an eating utensil, sewing, a weapon, and digging.WORDPLAY/Archives/"We Sail With the Tide" by Terry Rossio Behind the scenes *Scrum was portrayed by Stephen Graham in On Stranger Tides and Dead Men Tell No Tales. *Stephen Graham stated that he based his role as the scrappy Scrum in part on English comedian Les Dawson as well as a bit of the Artful Dodger.Mothers-in-law of the CaribbeanStephen Graham On Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides "My character was originally from the Greenwich area of London," notes Graham, "a true sailor who's been out to sea since he was a kid. I kind of think of Scrum as being like the Artful Dodger of the pirate world, always looking for something to do, always with his hand in something. He's always looking for another way to make more money, or go on another adventure. Scrum is a great, fun character to play, and after playing a few psychos lately, it’s great to be able to let all that go and just really enjoy myself."POTC4 Presskit *In earlier interviews, Stephen Graham thought of Scrum as a proper, loveable Cockney rogue. He also said that he was going to play him as a Scouser, but decided against it because he didn't think Americans would be able to understand the accent.This is England star Stephen Graham on why he’s celebrating Halloween in Liverpool this year He also revealed that Scrum would be the right-hand man of Angelica in On Stranger Tides, but that "he'll go anywhere there's a pound note and a job involved". *Originally, as per the On Stranger Tides screenplay, Scrum strums a jaunty tune on his mandola as the Queen Anne's Revenge sailed away under Hector Barbossa at the end of the film. It is unknown why the scene didn't make it into the final cut, or if that moment was even filmed, though Stephen Graham did mention playing the mandola in an interview.IndieLondon: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – Stephen Graham interview - Your London Reviews *In LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, Scrum was knocked out by Angelica and forced to join Blackbeard's crew, along with Jack Sparrow. However, as evidenced in the On Stranger Tides film, Scrum was associated with Angelica for some time. Scrum also never wielded a sword in LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, only using his mandola as a weapon. *In Terry Rossio's original script for Dead Men Tell No Tales Scrum would have joined Jack Sparrow as his only crewmember aboard the Cuttlefish, following him on futile treasure hunts.Pirates of the Caribbean DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES Screenplay by Terry Rossio Appearances *''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'' *''The Brightest Star in the North: The Adventures of Carina Smyth'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales'' **''Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: Movie Graphic Novel'' *''LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game'' Sources *''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (junior novelization)'' *''Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides: The Visual Guide'' Notes and references de:Scrum ja:スクラム ru:Скрам pl:Scrum Category:Pirates Category:Queen Anne's Revenge crew Category:Musicians Category:Males Category:Inhabitants of London Category:Pirate captains Category:Hector Barbossa's crew Category:Dying Gull crew Category:Black Pearl crew Category:English Category:Swordsmen Category:Mutineers Category:Jack Sparrow's crew Category:Joshamee Gibbs' crew